Gangs in The United States - Organized Gangs

Organized Gangs

Hallsworth and Young (2005) describe an organized gang as a group of individuals for whom involvement in crime is for personal gain (mostly financial, though could be otherwise, sexual gratification as with pedophile rings). For most, crime is their 'occupation'. These groups operate almost exclusively in the grey and illegal marketplace where market transactions are unregulated by the law.

Transnational organized crime groups may be involved in crimes ranging from drug trafficking, arms trafficking, art theft, human trafficking, contract killing, kidnapping, people smuggling, prostitution, piracy, counterfeiting, identity theft, loan sharking, money laundering, extortion, murder, and illegal gambling, to acts of terrorism, to political assassination. The complexity and seriousness of the crimes committed by global crime groups pose a threat not only to law enforcement but to democracy and legitimate economic development as well.

There are numerous organized crime groups and they can be found in the majority of small to medium sized cities at varying degrees of size and organization. All large cities will house some kind of organized crime group. A further distinction could be made with what are often termed organized crime syndicates.

There are a number of widely known crime organizations as such whose operations span the world. Perhaps the most famous are the American Mafia (often portrayed in New York mob movies), the Irish Mob, the Chinese Triad Society, the Japanese Yakuza, the Sicilian Mafia and the Russian Mafia. Other large cities also play host to unique types of organized criminals. For example, London's East End is home to a number of traditional crime families, and was the home of the infamous Kray Twins, and Boston's Irish Mob was portrayed in the Martin Scorsese film The Departed. Recently, Chicago's Folk Nation has broken out from a street gang into international business and is thought by many to be the newest entity of the organized crime world.